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A fleet of thirty-one Class 91 electric locomotives was built for British Rail from 1988-1991 to operate on the newly electrified East Coast Main Line services between London Kings Cross and Edinburgh.

• Class 91s and the Mark 4 coaching stock they work with were replaced by Class 801 Azuma trains on London - Edinburgh services from 2020, although LNER retain a small fleet for London - Leeds & York workings.

• The Class 91 locomotive and the Mk.4 coaching stock they operate with are known as InterCity 225 trains (IC225) from the original top speed specification (140mph = 225km/h), although in regular passenger service they have a maximum speed of 125mph (201km/h)
• Following the privatisation of British Rail, the InterCity East Coast route and the IC225 trains have been operated by GNER from 1996, National Express East Coast (NXEC) from December 2007, East Coast from November 2009, Virgin Trains East Coast? from March 2015 and London North Eastern Railway? from June 2018.
• The Locomotives were originally numbered 91001 to 91031, but were refurbished and renumbered by GNER in the 2000 and 2003 period, to become 91101 to 91131, with loco 91023 out of sequence taking the number 91132.

Firsts and Lasts in Scotland

• Some Class 91 acceptance testing was carried out on the WCML between Beattock Summit and Polmadie from 24th to 27th April 1989. 91009 was seen on 27 April on a test run to Polmadie, hauling a rake of Mk2 coaches with 43014 on the rear. <Photo (with wrong date)>
• 91019 was named 'Scottish Enterprise' at Edinburgh Waverley on 12th September 1990. This was before electrification in the Edinburgh area was in use, so the loco and its' IC225 set were hauled by 47837 to Drem and back. <Photo>
• 91011 & 91016 and a set of Mk4 coaches arrived at Craigentinny in mid-October 1990. Starting 29th October 1990, 91016 and a Mk.4 set was used on driver training runs from Polmadie to Carlisle.
• On 19th December 1990, 91018 and four Mk.4 coaches including DVT 82219 were noted in Edinburgh Waverley, apparently after a Test run along the ECML. Testing (or driver training) resumed on 9th January 1991, and again with the same formation, the trains running to Dunbar or Gransthouse loop and return on Wednesdays, Thursdays & Fridays.
• Until Craigentinny Depot was wired in June 1991, Class 91s & Mk4s on driver training were based at Millerhill Yard. To help with stabling, the locos were at the South end of the trains. <Photo 1><Photo 2>.
• On 30th May 1991, 91019 worked a VIP special between Edinburgh and Glasgow Central to promote the introduction of the new service from the (delayed) July Timetable change.
• The first Class 91 to operate in public service in Scotland occurred on Wednesday 12th June 1991, as 91009 (with Mk4 set and DVT 82215) arrived on 11:00 London King's Cross - Edinburgh, and returned on 17:30 to London. <Photo>
• From 8th July 1991, there were eight weekday departures from Glasgow Central to London Kings Cross running via Motherwell and Carstairs Junction to Edinburgh, plus an evening train to York. This pattern of service continued until May 2011, when the Glasgow service was reduced to a single morning departure '1E06' (none on Sundays), and an evening arrival '1S23' (none Saturdays, but 1S25 on Sundays).
• Class 800/801 Azumas took over the 1S23/1E06 working to from Glasgow Central from Monday 23/09/2019, with 91102 propelling the 1E06 from Glasgow on the Monday. However, disruption on Monday 23/12/19 saw InterCity liveried 91119 work 1S23 15:30 London KX - Glasgow Central, and after stabling at Polmadie, it returned the next morning on 1E06 06:48 Glasgow Central - London KX. On Hogmanay, Tuesday 31/12/19, 91114 hauled 1S23 to Glasgow Central. After the new year shutdown, 91114 then worked 1E06 south on Thursday 2nd January 2020.
• IC225s had run between Edinburgh and Carlisle on a few odd occasions during weather related disruption on the East Coast Route. From September 2012, IC225 sets were used during Autumn weekend diversions between Edinburgh and Newcastle via Beattock, Carlisle and the Tyne Valley, with Class 67s hauling the complete trains between Carlisle and Newcastle. Usually the Class 91 would be at the south end on the West Coast section. The first occasion was on Saturday 15th September 2012, with 91102 on train 1E06. The last time this occurred was Saturday October 13th 2018.
• 91131 became the first electric locomotive to run to Stirling on 28th November 2019. This was a test run in passenger service for the start of regular class 91 operations to Stirling, with 91131 and its MK4 train taking over 1W22 15:00 ex London Kings Cross at Edinburgh Waverley from an Azuma. The 91 then departed with on the usual Empty stock 5W22 20:28 Stirling - Craigentinny.
• On Weekdays from December 2019, Class 91s operated on both the morning 1E03 05:26 Stirling - London KX and evening 1W22 15:00 London KX - Stirling LNER services, although planned use on 1W22 ended on 24/1/20. Sporadic appearances in place of Azumas continued after this. On Wednesday 11th March 91107 hauled 1W22 to Stirling, and on Monday 16th March 91102 propelled 1E03 from Stirling to London. Unfortunately all LNER Class 91 workings to Stirling occurred during hours of darkness.
• Use of Class 91s on the London King's Cross - Edinburgh route was progressively reduced during 2020 as more Class 801 Azumas were brought into service.
• The last day with two class 91s to Edinburgh was Saturday 29th August with 91124 on 1S07/1E17 and 91119 on 1S08/1E18 <Photo>.
• Planned use of Class 91s to Edinburgh ended on Friday 04/09/2020, with 91109 (and DVT 82225) arriving on 1S07 08:00 Kings Cross to Edinburgh and departing on 1E17 13:30 Edinburgh London. Commemorative window lables were used <Photo>. However, substitutions for class 801 Azumas did occur a few times later in September; 91124 worked 1S04 and 1E14 on Monday 7th, and 91109 worked 1S08 & 1E18 on Tuesday 8th.
• 91127 worked 1S12 10:30 King's Cross - Edinburgh and 1E22 16:00 return on Friday 18th <Photo>.
• The last known LNER working to Edinburgh was on Thursday 24th September 2020, with 91105 arriving on 1S08, 08:30 from London KX, returning on 1E18 14:00 Edinburgh to London. <Photo>.
• At the end of September LNER withdrew the Thunderbird locos from Edinburgh & Newcastle and restricted the class 91s to services south of York and Leeds.

Notable Workings

• On 28 June 1991, 91029 (named 'Queen Elizabeth II' before departure) hauled shortened Mk4 set as a 11:15 King's Cross to Edinburgh special conveying Her Majesty The Queen, to officially inaugurate the East Coast Main Line electrification <Photo>. On arrival at Edinburgh Waverley, the Queen named 91030 'Palace of Holyroodhouse' <Photo>.
• On 26 September 1991, 91012 with a shortened MK4 set (12224+11247+10326+11247+11263+82220), ran as 1T01 09:00 King's Cross to Edinburgh, arriving at 12:29, a record breaking 3 hour 29 minute non-stop journey.
• On 3rd May 1993, 91017 (running blunt-end first) hauled the return leg of the 'Cock of the North' Intercity land cruise from Edinburgh to London King's Cross, as substitute for a Class 90.<Photo>
• In the early hours of April 19, 1994, 91031 hauled the previous night's 1M16 20:20 Inverness - Euston sleeper train, between Edinburgh and Carlisle (reported in RAIL 226).
• On 18 June 1994, 91008 (with a MK4 set) hauled a London KX - Edinburgh - Carlisle - WCML - London Euston 'The North Briton (225 Special)' Railtour.
• On 23 October 2007, GNER's 91130 hauled a failed HST set (with 43051) on 1S22, 1530 Kings Cross to Edinburgh. <Photo>
• On Friday 3rd September 2021, LNER's 91130 ran light from Neville Hill to Polmadie (via Donacaster and Edinburgh). On Saturday 4th, it was booked to haul the 'GBRf 2021' tour as 1Z31 from Mossend to Newcastle via Edinburgh, however deviating from the plan, it ran light to Mossend via Carmyle, then hauled the tour blunt-end first to Carlisle via Beattock. <Photo>.

Withdrawals

At the start of August 2020, 19 Class 91 locomotives had been withdrawn from service with LNER.

Loco	Date	Last Passenger Service	Notes
91101	--	N/A	N/A
91102	29/04/20	Unknown	Stored at Doncaster RMT
91103	28/08/19	1A49 19:16 Leeds to Kings Cross (28/08/19)	Spare parts at BN (mostly internal components so far)
91104	xx/02/20	1E22 16:00 Edinburgh to Kings Cross (08/02/20)	Moved to Doncaster RMT on 05/03/20
91105	--	N/A	N/A
91106	--	N/A	N/A
91107	--	N/A	N/A
91108	31/07/19	1D28 18:33 Kings Cross to Bradford FS (30/07/19)	0Z12 NL-Doncaster (31/07/19). Stripped at Doncaster. Nose is now on 91124
91109	--	N/A	N/A
91110	--	N/A	N/A
91111	--	N/A	N/A
91112	04/04/20	Unknown	Stored at Doncaster RMT
91113	28/03/20	Unknown	Stored at Doncaster RMT
91114	--	N/A	N/A
91115	31/07/20	1E27 18:31 Edinburgh to Kings Cross (27/07/20)	BN to Doncaster Belmont on 31/7/20
91116	10/04/20	Unknown	Stored at Doncaster Belmont
91117	25/09/19	1E18 14:00 Edinburgh to Kings Cross (25/09/19)	0Z91 - BN to Leicester on 06/10/19 (Europhoenix livery)
91118	xx/04/20	Unknown	Stored at Doncaster RMT
91119	--	N/A	N/A
91120	24/09/19	1E18 14:00 Edinburgh to Kings Cross (24/09/19)	0Z91 - BN to Leicester on 06/10/19 (Europhoenix livery)
91121	27/06/20	Unknown	Stored at Doncaster Belmont
91122	28/01/20	1E24 17:00 Edinburgh to Kings Cross* (28/01/20)	For ROG, 0Z91 - BN to Leicester (01/02/20)
91124	--	N/A	N/A
91125	31/07/20	1Y90 18:02 York - King's Cross (27/07/20)	BN to Doncaster Belmont on 31/7/20
91126	27/06/20	Unknown	Stored at Doncaster Belmont
91127	--	N/A	N/A
91128	29/01/20	1E24 17:00 Edinburgh to Kings Cross (29/01/20)	For ROG, 0Z91 - BN to Leicester (01/02/20)
91129	28/03/20	Unknown	Stored at Doncaster RMT
91130	--	N/A	N/A
91131	18/04/20	Unknown	Stored at Doncaster RMT
91132	24/01/20	1E21 15:30 Edinburgh to Kings Cross (24/01/20)	BN to Doncaster Belmont on 31/7/20. Scrapped Sims Nottingham April 2021

.*Due to major issues at Dunbar, 91122 took over the path of 1E25 (running as 1G25), before terminating at KGX for the final time.

• Home Maintenance depot for class 91 and Mk4 stock was Bounds Green (Code BN) in London.

LNER Fleet List (2019)

Number	Name	Notes
91101	Flying Scotsman	Flying Scotsman vinyl branding with cabside saltires.
91102	City of York
91103		2nd Withdrawn, 28/08/19.
91104
91105
91106
91107	Skyfall
91108		1st Withdrawn, 31/07/19
91109	Sir Bobby Robson
91110	Battle of Memorial Flight	Special WWII tribute livery since 2012
91111	For the Fallen	Special WWI tribute livery since 2014
91112
91113
91114	Durham Cathedral	Durham Cathedral vinyl branding
91115	Blaydon Races
91116
91117	West Riding Limited	4th Withdrawn, 25/09/19
91118	The Fusiliers
91119	Bounds Green INTERCITY DEPOT 1977-2017	Intercity Swallow liveried since November 2018
91120		3rd Withdrawn, 24/09/19
91121	#Trainbow (Love is Love)
91122
91124
91125
91126	Darlington Hippodrome
91127
91128	INTERCITY 50
91129
91130	Lord Mayor of Newcastle
91131
91132	Time to Change / Employer Pledge	Vinyl branding. (loco originally numbered 91023)

Coaching Stock

• LNER Class 91s work with a rake of nine Mark 4 coaches and a Mark 4 Driving Van Trailer (DVT), with the Class 91 normally coupled to coach B at the Country (or North) end of the train.
• In the early 1990s while the East Coast route was still operated by BR, class 90 locomotive occasionally substituted for class 91s on Mk.4 sets on services from London KX to Edinburgh and Glasgow. After privatisation, the hired-in Class 90s (and the class 89) were used only on the London - Leeds/Bradford route.

MkIV Set Lists

Set	M (FOS)	L (FO)	K (FOD)	H (RSB)	F (TSOD)	E (TSO)	D (TSO)	C (TSO)	B (TSOE)
BN01	11401	11301	11298	10307	12307	12414	12415	12417	12207
BN02	11402	11302	11299	10302	12302	12448	12450	12402	12232
BN03	11403	11303	11277	10320	12301	12478	12459	12401	12201
BN04	11404	11304	11278	10303	12327	12518	12421	12480	12202
BN05	11405	11305	11219	10326	12300	12522	12520	12486	12209
BN06	11406	11306	11279	10309	12313	12422	12420	12406	12208
BN07	11407	11307	11280	10323	12329	12489	12405	12411	12231
BN08	11408	11308	11229	10300	12328	12407	12485	12481	12205
BN09	11409	11309	11281	10331	12308	12514	12483	12513	12230
BN10	11410	11310	11282	10304	12305	12443	12488	12419	12214
BN11	11411	11311	11283	10308	12315	12484	12436	12437	12203
BN12	11412	11312	11284	10333	12330	12426	12404	12431	12212
BN13	11413	11313	11285	10313	12311	12424	12430	12469	12228
BN14	11414	11314	11201	10332	12312	12423	12526	12410	12229
BN15	11415	11315	11286	10306	12309	12515	12409	12442	12226
BN16	11416	11316	11287	10315	12304	12433	12445	12428	12213
BN17	11417	11317	11288	10324	12303	12432	12427	12444	12231
BN18	11418	11318	11289	11305	12324	12467	12468	12453	12215
BN19	11419	11319	11290	10318	12310	12470	12400	12434	12211
BN20	11420	11320	11241	10321	12326	12440	12439	12477	12224
BN21	11421	11321	11244	10330	12323	12476	12441	12461	12222
BN22	11422	11322	11291	10301	12316	12473	12460	12452	12210
BN23	11423	11323	11292	10325	12318	12455	12456	12454	12225
BN24	11424	11324	11293	10328	12319	12403	12425	12447	12219
BN25	11425	11325	11294	10312	12322	12464	12519	12446	12217
BN26	11426	11326	11295	10311	12325	12429	12465	12474	12220
BN27	11427	11327	11237	10319	12317	12538	12466	12449	12216
BN28	11428	11328	11273	10310	12320	12533	12463	12458	12218
BN29	11429	11329	11998	10317	12321	12438	12457	12462	12204
BN30	11430	11330	11999	10329	12331	12472	12534	12471	12227

Coach Type Codes

• FO: First Open (2+1 seats), FOS: with smoking compartment (all now non-smoking) FOD: with disabled access.
• RSB: Restaurant Buffet Standard Open (2+2 seats)
• TSO: Tourist Standard Open (2+2 seats), TSOD: with disabled access. TSOE: End coach with buffers and smoking compartment (all now non-smoking)

Notes:

• Sets are numbered by the two first class coaches so for example if you seen 11410 it would mean Set 10 or BN10. The same happens for 113xx coaches.

Mark 4 Driving Van trailers (DVT)

• The Driving Van trailers operate at the London end of the sets next to the first class coaches.
• There were 32 Mk4 DVTs built, numbered 82200-231 (82221 was destroyed in an accident in 2001).
• DVT number 82205 wears "Flying Scotsman" livery with the saltire flag, matching loco 91101, from 6 March 2020, 82205 was rebranded as 'Flying ScotsWOMAN'.

Preservation

• Last built 91131 was withdrawn from service in April 2020, and stored at Doncaster Belmont Yard. It moved by road from Doncaster to Bo'ness, arriving on 9th March 2023 <YouTube>, and has been put on display in the Museum of Scottish Railways, retaining the Virgin Trains red livery with LNER branding. <Flickr>

See Also

• Class 91 Photo gallery
• Class 91s working in Scotland, Saturday 14/05/2016, part 1 & Part 2
• Class 91s working in Scotland on Sunday 22/05/2016.

External Links

• RAIL Magazine, Class 91 story by 2013
• Wikipedia - Class 91
• Wikipedia - Mark 4 coaches
• Wikipedia - Mark 4 DVT
• Train Testing - IC225 and Class 91 commissioning